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ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - May 2009
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $340.0 billion, an increase of 0.5 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month, but 9.6 percent (±0.7%) below May 2008. Total sales for the March through May 2009 period were down 9.7 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The March to April 2009 percent change was revised from -0.4 percent (±0.5%)* to -0.2 percent (±0.2%)*.
Retail trade sales were up 0.5 percent (±0.7%)* from April 2009, but 10.8 percent (±0.7%) below last year. Gasoline stations sales were down 33.8 percent (±1.5%) from May 2008 and motor vehicle and parts dealers sales were down 19.6 percent (±2.3%) from last year.
The advance estimates are based on a subsample of the Census Bureau’s full retail and food services sample. A stratified random sampling method is used to select approximately 5,000 retail and food services firms whose sales are then weighted and benchmarked to represent the complete universe of over three million retail and food services firms. Responding firms account for approximately 65% of the MARTS dollar volume estimate. For an explanation of the measures of sampling variability included in this report, please see the Reliability of Estimates section on the last page of this publication.
* The 90 percent confidence interval includes zero. The Census Bureau does not have sufficient statistical evidence to conclude that the actual change is different than zero.
The Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services for June is scheduled to be released July 14, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--May 2009
Estimates adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes.
(Total sales estimates are shown in millions of dollars and are based on data from the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, Monthly Retail Trade Survey, and administrative records.)(2)
(In Millions of dollars)
2009 2009 2009 2008 2008
NAICS(1) Kind of Business May(3) Apr Mar May Apr
Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 339,993 338,422 339,228 375,912 376,009
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 284,708 283,399 283,970 307,175 305,873
Retail ....................................... 301,682 300,168 301,057 338,049 338,429
GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 93,600 93,891 98,549 97,740
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 55,285 55,023 55,258 68,737 70,136
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 48,658 48,448 48,699 62,181 63,645
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 7,767 7,799 7,885 9,110 9,147
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,383 8,425 8,502 9,641 9,471
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 6,574 6,651 7,732 7,562
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,851 1,851 1,909 1,909
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 24,612 24,299 24,435 27,451 27,473
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 20,202 20,360 23,497 23,715
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 49,028 48,848 48,881 48,752 48,930
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 43,724 43,543 43,591 43,698 43,879
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,498 3,504 3,404 3,405
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 21,291 21,145 21,088 20,285 20,284
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 17,566 17,524 16,812 16,781
447 Gasoline stations................................ 28,105 27,119 27,326 42,472 41,716
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 17,306 17,234 17,359 18,600 18,638
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 2,939 2,931 3,231 3,292
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,095 2,157 2,316 2,295
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,244 7,299 7,244 7,460 7,367
452 General merchandise stores....................... 49,515 49,620 49,722 50,368 49,746
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 15,768 15,880 15,922 16,978 16,924
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 33,740 33,800 33,390 32,822
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 29,893 29,960 29,585 29,065
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 3,847 3,840 3,805 3,757
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,562 9,687 9,653 9,785 9,905
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 23,584 23,670 23,704 25,388 25,616
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 17,011 17,000 17,142 17,412
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 38,311 38,254 38,171 37,863 37,580
(*) Advance estimates are not available for this kind of business.
(NA) Not available (S) Suppressed (a) Advance estimate (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate
(1) For a full description of the NAICS codes used in this table, see http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html
(2) Estimates are concurrently adjusted for seasonal variation and for holiday and trading day differences, but not for price changes. Concurrent seasonal adjustment
uses all available unadjusted estimates as input to the X-12 ARIMA program. The factors derived from the program are used in calculating all seasonally
adjusted estimates shown in this table. Year-to-date seasonally adjusted sales estimates are not tabulated. Adjustment factors and explanatory material can be found
on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html
(3) Advance estimates are based on early reports obtained from a small sample of firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) sample.
All other estimates are from the MRTS sample.
(4) GAFO represents firms which specialize in department store types of merchandise and is comprised of furniture & home furnishings (442), electronics & appliances (443),
clothing & clothing accessories (448), sporting goods, hobby, book, and music (451), general merchandise (452), office supply, stationery, and gift stores (4532).
(5) Estimates include data for leased departments operated within department stores. Data for this line are not included in broader kind-of-business totals.
TABLE 1B. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--May 2009
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes.
(In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change)
5 month total
% Chg. 2009 2009 2009 2008 2008
NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2009 from May(2) Apr Mar May Apr
Code 2008 (a) (p) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 1,643,180 -10.2 355,414 335,968 334,149 399,979 370,144
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 1,363,212 -7.1 295,621 277,794 275,000 323,249 296,029
Retail ....................................... 1,454,609 -11.5 314,728 297,944 295,520 359,693 332,714
GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 87,174 87,477 98,891 88,721
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 279,968 -22.7 59,793 58,174 59,149 76,730 74,115
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 248,013 -25.0 53,086 51,500 52,498 69,892 67,527
44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 39,467 40,575 54,724 53,160
4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 6,674 6,651 6,838 6,588
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 37,175 -14.8 7,674 7,253 7,601 9,146 8,525
4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 3,965 4,262 4,991 4,663
4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,288 3,339 4,155 3,862
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 40,064 -8.2 7,753 7,260 7,929 9,006 8,153
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 5,581 6,139 7,322 6,435
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,679 1,790 1,684 1,718
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 118,301 -11.7 29,951 27,506 23,469 34,330 30,843
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 21,475 19,423 27,303 25,375
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 239,068 0.2 50,876 48,089 47,273 51,267 46,805
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 214,884 -0.3 45,386 43,020 42,501 45,927 42,168
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,257 3,140 3,574 3,126
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 104,666 3.0 21,525 21,103 21,531 20,833 20,000
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 17,636 17,892 17,249 16,563
447 Gasoline stations................................ 132,406 -34.3 30,382 27,200 26,342 46,337 41,674
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 78,225 -6.9 17,368 16,432 15,890 19,062 17,077
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 748 646 860 806
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,133 2,846 3,538 3,355
44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 6,174 6,243 7,069 6,303
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,158 2,071 2,383 2,222
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 32,380 -2.1 6,795 6,328 6,433 6,975 6,409
452 General merchandise stores....................... 231,407 0.0 50,546 47,044 46,753 51,468 45,620
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 70,442 -6.8 15,551 14,805 14,306 16,776 15,099
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 15,226 14,716 17,289 15,559
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 32,239 32,447 34,692 30,521
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 28,488 28,822 30,739 27,001
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 3,751 3,625 3,953 3,520
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 45,300 -4.7 10,157 9,170 9,072 10,663 9,298
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 115,649 -6.2 21,908 22,385 24,078 23,876 24,195
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 16,075 16,660 16,611 16,576
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 188,571 1.7 40,686 38,024 38,629 40,286 37,430
(*) Advance estimates are not available for this kind of business.
(NA) Not available (a) Advance estimate (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate
(1) For a full description of the NAICS codes used in this table, see http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html
(2) Advance estimates are based on early reports obtained from a small sample of firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) sample.
All other estimates are from the MRTS sample.
(3) GAFO represents firms which specialize in department store types of merchandise and is comprised of furniture & home furnishings (442), electronics & appliances (443),
clothing & clothing accessories (448), sporting goods, hobby, book, and music (451), general merchandise (452), office supply, stationery, and gift stores (4532).
(4) Estimates include data for leased departments operated within department stores. Data for this line are not included in broader kind-of-business totals.
TABLE 2A. ESTIMATED CHANGE IN SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--May 2009
Estimates adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes
(Estimates are shown as percents and are based on data from the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey,
Monthly Retail Trade Survey, and administrative records.)(*)
May Apr
2009 2009
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Apr May Mar Apr
Code 2009 2008 2009 2008
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... +0.5 -9.6 -0.2 -10.0
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.5 -7.3 -0.2 -7.3
Retail .................................. +0.5 -10.8 -0.3 -11.3
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +0.5 -19.6 -0.4 -21.5
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... +0.4 -21.7 -0.5 -23.9
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -0.4 -14.7 -1.1 -14.7
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -0.5 -13.0 -0.9 -11.0
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +1.3 -10.3 -0.6 -11.6
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +0.4 +0.6 -0.1 -0.2
4451 Grocery stores.................................. +0.4 +0.1 -0.1 -0.8
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.7 +5.0 +0.3 +4.2
447 Gasoline stations................................ +3.6 -33.8 -0.8 -35.0
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +0.4 -7.0 -0.7 -7.5
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -0.8 -2.9 +0.8 -0.9
452 General merchandise stores....................... -0.2 -1.7 -0.2 -0.3
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -0.7 -7.1 -0.3 -6.2
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -1.3 -2.3 +0.4 -2.2
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -0.4 -7.1 -0.1 -7.6
722 Food services & drinking places.................. +0.1 +1.2 +0.2 +1.8
(p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate
(*) Estimates shown in this table are derived from adjusted estimates provided in Table 1A of this report.
TABLE 2B. ESTIMATED CHANGE IN SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--May 2009
Data not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes.
(Estimates are shown as percents and are based on data from the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey,
Monthly Retail Trade Survey, and administrative records.)(*)
May Apr
2009 2009
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Apr May Mar Apr
Code 2009 2008 2009 2008
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... +5.8 -11.1 +0.5 -9.2
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +6.4 -8.5 +1.0 -6.2
Retail .................................. +5.6 -12.5 +0.8 -10.5
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +2.8 -22.1 -1.6 -21.5
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ +3.1 -24.0 -1.9 -23.7
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +5.8 -16.1 -4.6 -14.9
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +6.8 -13.9 -8.4 -11.0
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +8.9 -12.8 +17.2 -10.8
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +5.8 -0.8 +1.7 +2.7
4451 Grocery stores.................................. +5.5 -1.2 +1.2 +2.0
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +2.0 +3.3 -2.0 +5.5
447 Gasoline stations................................ +11.7 -34.4 +3.3 -34.7
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +5.7 -8.9 +3.4 -3.8
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +7.4 -2.6 -1.6 -1.3
452 General merchandise stores....................... +7.4 -1.8 +0.6 +3.1
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +5.0 -7.3 +3.5 -1.9
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +10.8 -4.7 +1.1 -1.4
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -2.1 -8.2 -7.0 -7.5
722 Food services & drinking places.................. +7.0 +1.0 -1.6 +1.6
(p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate
(*) Estimates shown in this table are derived from not adjusted estimates provided in Table 1B of this report.
SOURCE: Advance Monthly Sales for Retail Trade and Food Services--MAY 2009 (Press Release available without charge from Public Information Office, Bureau of the Census Washington, D.C. 20233). Survey methodology and measures of sampling variability are documented in the Advance Press Release. Questions concerning this report should be directed to Mr. Timothy Winters (301) 763-2713.